Warning: 3-D glasses do not block UV rays, making them unsuitable for sunglass-type use.
It was the holidays. That meant that I was basically alone in a house with a blu-ray player and surround sound. Basically, there is no one I want to see in the surrounding area and my Tumblr stream is neither deep or swift enough to carry me for more than half an hour. Also, my family has DVDs, a Netflix account, and taste often concordant with mine, especially when it comes to movies. As a result I watched at least one movie every night of my time in Lancaster, excepting Christmas Day, when I visited the one person I can be bothered to visit in Lancaster. I quite enjoyed it—I don’t even have a TV at home in Seattle and though my laptop plays DVDs it seems like hardly an ideal movie-watching solution. Furthermore, I am very lazy and find it difficult to order and pick up movies from the library. After all this movie-watching I believe that I have Something To Say About Films.
Beverly Hills Cop (1984; Dir. Martin Brest)
I read this Wire article about Hypnogogic Pop (née Chillwave; Glo-Fi) that used the soundtrack of this film as a reference point for the likes of Pocahaunted and The Surfers. About a half hour later it was on TV so I watched it. Maybe it was Meant To Be. I like how the opening scene establishes Foley as a being in-between the law. At first, you don’t realize that he’s an undercover cop trying to bring down a smuggling operation. When the cops pull up, you think he’s getting busted. His uncertain status as good guy or bad guy is later reflected in his tendency to make his own rules regarding police conduct. Really liked Foley’s dealings with the LAPD, and moreover his basic ability to scheme people into doing what he wants. He’s good at convincing people of things he is not—”I am a reporter”; “I am a customs agent”; “I am Victor’s lover”; “I am on vacation”.
Foley is in-between the law but definitely on the wrong side of the LAPD, who are obsessed with procedure to the point that it renders them incompetent. I agreed with anti-bureaucratic sentiment expressed in the film, but worried about the implicit Cops Doing Whatever The Fuck They Want sentiment expressed in the film.
The music was good. Sounded like Ducktails. I was annoyed by the commercial breaks. I don’t watch enough TV. Apparently, Mickey Rourke, then Sylvester Stallone were going to play Foley. Stallone allegedly left the project over a disagreement about “what kind of orange juice was to be put in his trailer.”
Maria Full of Grace (2004; Joshua Marston)
Felt bad in an abstract sense about the narcotics trade and world poverty. Agreed with critique of post-Fordist/Taylorist (via sweatshop exports and machine-like management of human labor) techniques of labor discipline on the rose plantation. Maria was trapped—no options, no future but menial factory work and poverty. Foreshadowing to her pregnancy (“Come up here I have something to tell you”; her constant bathroom trips and subsequent flower vomit at work) was well done.
I couldn’t help but feel anything but “good for her” at the end. I think this falls short, if only for how the end seems to downplay the intensely fucked up things that happen to her and those around her. They don’t serve as testimony, as I thought they would. Rather they seemed framed in a story of individual achievement, of overcoming obstacles and coming to America for the sake of you and yours.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966; Sergio Leone)
Felt intensely attracted to Clint Eastwood and his projection of Western Masculinity. Wondered at the workings of what was clearly a parallel moral universe—some of the first action in the film sees Angel Eyes carrying out a contract killing. He accepts the money offered by the target to spare his life and kill the man who hired him, but he doesn’t spare the life of his victim. Rather, he kills him and goes back to kill the man who had originally ordered the killing. Why? Because when Angel Eyes accepts a contract he fulfills it. Still trying to figure out Blondie and Tuco’s on-and-off again relationship. Seems like they can and cannot trust each other and could very well kill each other at will—Blondie abandons Tuco in the desert, Tuco force marches Blondie through the desert until his face looks like skin graft pizza. Thought the Civil War was used interestingly.
500 Days of Summer (2009; Marc Webb)
Wanted to die after watching this movie. Strongly identified with male lead. The movie made sense to me, made me feel sad and sometimes nostalgic. Made me ache to meet someone special. I know at least two people who hated this movie. I think they are more mature than I and have had better/more stable/less needlessly wounding long term relationships than I. This movie may only make sense to relationship fuck-ups. Use of Indie Music may have been a bit ham fisted (cf. Juno).
Paradise Now (2005; Hany Abu-Assad)
Watched this with my mother, who fell asleep about a third of the way in—this is what she does. Did not want to die after watching this movie, but felt disturbed by the end. Was very attracted to female lead. Was distracted by how much one of the characters looked like my brother. This confused me—the guy that looked like my brother was one of the Militants Militant Enough To Send Young Kids To Die But Not Militant Enough To Die Himself. Familiar story, right?
Not sure about my management of tense in this post. Wish I had studied a discipline where they actually teach you to write well.
Avatar (2009; James Cameron)
Watched this with my stepfather. This movie was good but wearing 3-D glasses over prescription glasses was a pain in the ass. Felt incredibly awkward at points (the Mating Scene). Halfway through the movie I realized that Sully was basically a colonial anthropologist. He was to learn the ways of the Na’vi and report back to his superiors, who would use the information to better dominate/take control of the resources held by the Na’vi. Wondered at the implications of the Man/Na’vi hybrid thing. Interesting that the entry fee to studying these people was, besides some beneficent signs from Eywa, control of a body biologically distinct from but merged with the researcher. At the same time, the failure to adhere to group norms (and probably the seeming small size of the group in question) made the researcher’s otherness obvious. Was surprised that that Na’vi weren’t totally freaked out by humans walking around in Na’vi bodies—they had a term for them and everything. On the other hand, a people that can literally ‘plug in’ to nature could possibly take something like the Man/Avatar link for granted. Realizing that this movie was very, very good in that it has provided me a large yard for my mind to roam. Think Donna Haraway / other Super Post Whatever Thinkers / Sociology of Science folks will have/are having a field day with this movie.
I was able to predict most of the plot turns. I don’t think this is the new Star Wars.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008; Danny Boyle)
Watched and enjoyed this for the second time in Philadelphia. Had trouble not acting like a Know It All when some random Indian culture-related tidbit floated into my head. Felt moved and viscerally angered by the religious extremism that leaves Salim and Jamal motherless. Felt double angered at the cruelty of those who would take advantage of street children. Glad that Salim and Jamal were good hustlers. Hope people realize that this is sort of stuff Really Happens. Wondered how I would have felt about this film if I had seen City of God. I think they may address similar themes. Enjoyed the token dance sequence as well as the fact that the movie was not 3+ hours long.
Jim and the Infidels (2008; John Gross)
Watched this for the second time. It’s a Temple University senior film project. Felt like many scenes in this could have been cut. Looked very good. The movie is a fever dream issuing forth from Max, a spoiled brat who uses his father’s credit card to eat his way into a food coma. He writes a script about a film-making couple who are trying to write and produce their latest project. Had really funny moments. When a character in a film made by the couple about whom Max dreams is described as using the head of a dragon for transport, he is pictured in front of an unhitched tractor trailer.
Inglourious Basterds (2009; Quentin Tarantino)
Just watched this in Lancaster. Felt like the plot was weak but the film was overall good. Thought a lot about identity and language. The manner in which one spoke—accent, idiom—were often a matter of life and death. A man who is being interrogated is asked if the interrogator can switch to english, ostensibly because his french is weak. He actually wants to keep others from understanding what he is saying. A british operative is questioned for his accent, his explanation negated by his failure to indicate ’3′ correctly (apparently, a German would use the index, forefinger, and thumb). The Jew Hunter turns out to be somewhat fascinated with American idioms. Felt very tense when protagonists entered into contact with Nazis whom they could not immediately kill. Seemed like in these cases the Nazi in question poses as friendly when he is really trying to sniff out a traitor/impostor. Made me think things like, “oh god they are fucked but are they? I don’t know”. Adored the appropriation of spaghetti-western aesthetic—sad that it wasn’t carried through the film. Thought the graphic violence was totally necessary and emotionally effective.
